Chief of Sinners

 

 

I used to be so good,

Or at least, so I thought,

But I am learning not to think of me

More highly than I ought.

 

I used to see myself

As one of the best persons around,

Now I am inclined to Romans 12

Where the word soberly is found.

 

I am the chief of sinners

As the apostle Paul did iterate,

I have read it in Timothy

Only here of late.

 

In his first letter to Timothy

Chapter 1 and verse 15,

He said “sinners of whom I am chief”,

Note: he didn’t say “had been”.

 

This has occupied my attention

Like I said, here of late

And it is a true picture

Of my real spiritual state.

 

I am learning these days

How to bridle my tongue,

It is an inconspicuous body part

But it easily brings one down.

 

I am learning in silence

And it is not easy for me

But the more I learn in silence,

The more I can see.

 

When I am looking at others

I don’t see much of me,

And I end up comparing them

With whom I pretend to be.

 

 

Hence, my present objective

Is to think soberly of me,

Chief of sinners is my starting point

To help me spiritually see.

 

Now, not the best of persons

Like I previously thought

But more the chief of sinners

That Jesus’ blood bought.

 

Unworthy but sober,

No longer drunk,

That smug self-righteous satisfaction

The Holy Spirit has debunked.

 

You see me outside

But He sees my inside

And though I teeter and totter,

In Jesus Christ I abide.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020